


Big days and fragile nerves

by katwriting



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Magnus POV, Malec Fluff, No Drama, Romance, alec becomes head of the institute, alec gets promoted, and he's nervous, anyways magnus tries his best to calm him down, because they have a big ceremony planned and everything, did i mention that magnus is super proud of alec?, happiness, my boys being happy and cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 02:25:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10754802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katwriting/pseuds/katwriting
Summary: It’s the day that Alec is supposed to become the official Head of the Institute and he is a tiny bit nervous.“Nervous?”, Magnus said softly.Alec let out a shaky laugh and scratched the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “You have no idea.”Magnus sighed. “Oh, Alexander. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”“Yeah, sure”, Alec scoffed, running one of his arms up Magnus’s side and cupping his cheek with his hand, “only every single shadowhunter in New York waiting for me to screw up.”





	Big days and fragile nerves

**Author's Note:**

> I'm probably a bit late to the party, but: SEASON 3, GUYS! How amazing is that? I'm so happy that we get another year of those two dorks being ridiculously in love with each other (and of course, all the other stuff happening). AND there's only about 5 weeks left until 2B. We've already made it through more than half of the hiatus :D
> 
> So, now for this fic:  
> As always, thanks so much for every single kudo, comment and hit on my last fic. They mean so much to me and I still can't quite wrap my head around that people actually enjoy reading the stuff I write. 
> 
> Anyways, here's my new baby. This was inspired by the second teaser for 2B (the one with the Malec kiss). Someone mentioned on Twitter that they wanted that kiss to happen after Alec officially became the new Head of the Institute. And I loved that idea, so here you go! :)
> 
> Hope you guys like it, as usual comments and kudos are appreciated very much :)

If there was one important thing to know about Magnus Bane (besides that he was the High Warlock of Brooklyn and ridiculously in love with a shadowhunter), then that he always dressed to impress.

And impress he did. In his many years on earth, he’d seen a lot of trends come and go. Some he’d embraced and cherished, others he wouldn’t even let close to his wardrobe. He’d had plenty of time to experience with colors, patterns and fabrics to find his own personal style, cuts that fitted and styles that suited his personality. He proudly held the title of best-dressed downworlder in New York and intended to keep it for another while.

Needless to say that he was pretty much always dressed to the nines. No matter the occasion. Magnus Bane certainly didn’t need such a mundane thing as a special occasion to bring on his best outfit game.

But if there was one, even better. Especially if it was a formal one, like his boyfriend’s official promotion to the new Head of the New York Institute.

Truth to be told, Magnus felt a tiny bit nervous. After all, it was not every day that something as important like this happened, so Magnus figured that a tiny bit of nerves was okay.  

His own nervousness was nothing compared to Alec’s, anyway.

Alec, who was currently standing behind him, fidgeting with the narrow black tie that Magnus had picked out to go with his elegant dark blue dress shirt. The smooth fabric kept slipping from his fingers and Alec let out a few curses under his breath when he couldn’t tie it up.

Magnus looked at his boyfriend in the mirror, features softening at the sight of his usually so composed shadowhunter being so obviously on edge, and then turned around, closing the distance between them with a few steps. He gently nudged Alec’s hands aside with his own, took the ends of the tie into his hands and had the knot done within a matter of seconds. When he was done, he softly patted Alec’s chest and then looked up at his boyfriend, smiling sympathetically.

“Nervous?”, Magnus said softly.

Alec let out a shaky laugh and scratched the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “You have no idea.”

Magnus sighed. “Oh, Alexander. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, sure”, Alec scoffed, running one of his arms up Magnus’s side and cupping his cheek with his hand, “only every single shadowhunter in New York waiting for me to screw up.”

“Not every single one”, Magnus intervened, voice light with amusement. “There’s still Jace and Izzy. And biscuit.” When he mentioned the nickname, Alec rolled his eyes and Magnus tutted disapprovingly. “Face it, Alexander. Even if you don’t like her, she’s still sticking around.”

“It’s not that I don’t _like_ her.”, Alec stressed. “She’s alright…sometimes. But most of the times, she’s just really annoying. I don’t understand what Jace sees in her.”

“Well, most of the people you surround yourself with probably don’t understand what you see in me. So there’s that.”

Alec let out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, just one of the other one thousand things that people are going to be judging me on.”

“And you are going to prove them wrong. Every single, close-minded, prejudiced Nephilim.”  
Magnus let his hands travel up Alec’s chest and gently cupped his face in his hands to make the shadowhunter look at him. He held his gaze for a few seconds before he continued speaking, just to make sure Alec knew how serious he was about this. “You are Alexander Lightwood, one of the best shadowhunters of your time. You’re strong, compassionate, you know what’s right and can do what needs to be done. Apart from that, you are an exceptional leader and the very best thing that could happen to the Institute right now. Those prejudiced idiots are lucky to have you, Alec.”

“And _you_ are an exceptional liar”, Alec muttered before he leaned down and captured Magnus’s lips with his for a soft kiss. Magnus smiled at the familiar feeling of Alec’s lips against his, satisfied with apparently having chased Alec’s little panic attack away. He hummed in appreciation when he felt Alec’s fingers hook into the belt loops of his black pants and a moment later, the shadowhunter tugged him flush against his chest, deepening their kiss at the same time.

However, when he felt Alec’s hands wandering up his chest and starting to fidget with the top button of his shirt, he pulled away. “I’m not lying”, he stated and gasped lightly as Alec’s lips trailed from his mouth over his jawline to his neck, leaving a burning path on his skin. “And as much as I _hate_ to be the responsible one here”, he added and lightly pushed against Alec’s chest to bring some distance between them, “we’re going to have to postpone this, love. You need to get ready, I need to get my hair done and we have to leave in half an hour.”

Alec grumbled in disapproval and Magnus let out a soft laugh as he realized the change in the shadowhunter’s demeanor. His little panic attack was gone as fast as it had appeared. Where he had been an upset bundle of nerves mere minutes ago, he now looked almost disappointed, all furrowed brows and pouted lips. If it weren’t for the mischievous glint in his eyes, Magnus would almost have believed him. “Later then”, Alec said, leaning down to steal one more kiss from Magnus’ lips.

“Later”, Magnus promised firmly and then took a step back. He turned around and returned to his wardrobe, starting to rummage through the sheer endless rows of hangers. He had a jacket to find.

-

Magnus had always been aware that Shadowhunters were _very_ particular about their traditions.  
But he had not known how very much so. In fact, even though here was probably not a single Nephilim who would admit it, they were no better than the Seelies.

Ever since the date for the ceremony had been set, there had been tons of enquiries about the ceremony. From which guests to invite over where to hold the ceremony to which flowers would be suitable – at that point Magnus had just rolled his eyes, because honestly, even the _flowers?_ – for the ceremony. Luckily, Isabelle had taken it upon her to organize the ceremony and the party afterwards, successfully shielding her brother both from extra pressure as well as decisions about all the little decoration details that he could not care less about. 

It was not like Alec didn’t care at all about his promotion ceremony. He had just never taken much interest in decoration and seating orders and wasn’t really planning on changing that anytime soon. Especially when he was already busy enough with accustoming to the additional responsibility of not only being a leading shadowhunter, but officially running an Institute. Needless to say, he’d been more than happy to accept Isabelle’s offer to organize and supervise everything that had to do with the big ceremony.

Not that Magnus had doubted it, but when they walked into the Institute, it became obvious that Isabelle had done a marvelous job. When they stepped out of the portal Magnus had drawn up to get them to the Institute, the Institute was already buzzing with final preparations. Young shadowhunters were rushing around, carrying trays of empty glasses towards a bar that was set up against the wall. The bartender was already busy arranging the various liquors and other beverages around him. In the middle of the main hall there was a little platform, complete with the shining white stone carrying the Angelic power rune they’d already used at the wedding. That stone and the arranged seating gave them both a bit of a déjà-vu moment since it reminded them of the wedding. But apart from that, everything was different.

Instead of an aisle leading up to an altar, the chairs were arranged in circles around the small platform that Alec would later be taking his oath on.  There were also quite a few more rows of seats since the entire Institute had been invited, including a few representatives from the Clave (another déjà-vu moment). Even Alec’s mother had made it and was already bossing everyone around. Little Max was sitting in one of the chairs in the front row, fidgeting with his phone whereas Isabelle was parading through the room with unmistakable grace, wearing a beautiful knee-length dress and checking the final few details.  

When she spotted the two of them at the entrance to the Great Hall, she strode over and pulled first Magnus and then her brother into a hug. “Hey, big brother”, she greeted Alec and smiled up at him, “ready for your big day?”

A flash of his former insecurity ran through Alec’s eyes at the question. Magnus stepped closer and took Alec’s hand, interlacing their fingers immediately. He hoped that the little gesture would transfer what he meant to say with it. _You don’t have to do this alone. I’m right here with you, all the way._ Judging from the slight smile that grazed Alec’s features a moment later, it did.

“As ready as I’ll ever be”, Alec stated and then pulled Izzy into his side with his free hand. Izzy squealed when he placed a kiss on top of her head, but Alec didn’t seem to care. “Thank you for doing this. It looks great.”

“Thank you. But I already knew that”, Izzy giggled and pulled away when someone called her name from the other side of the room. “Gotta go, see you later, boys. Oh and Magnus”, she added, turning back around to face them once more, “your seat is in the second in the first row, in between Alec and me. Every chair in the first row is marked with the name, but I thought I’d tell you anyway. Just so you know.”  And with a final wink, she was gone.

“I’m sitting next to you?”, Magnus breathed, honestly surprised this time. Alec and him had never made a secret of their relationship, but showing it off to the entire New York Institute and a ton of Clave representatives, especially after what had happened at the wedding, seemed like a big step to him. Not that he minded, but he knew that the Clave’s opinion still mattered a lot to his boyfriend, even though Alec often pretended the opposite.

Right now, however, Alec didn’t seem to give a care about the Clave. He met Magnus’s confused glare with confidence when he pulled their joined hands up and placed a kiss on the back of Magnus’ hand. “You’re sitting right where you belong”, he said and the serenity in his voice didn’t leave any room for doubt – he meant what he’d said.

Magnus was unable to reply. He felt his heartbeat quicken and himself get all emotional when he realized that Alec had done it once again – casually, without a single ounce of doubt, put Magnus before everything else. Still at a loss of words, he felt his heart clench with emotion. He’d been so unused to someone else caring about him that all the affection and love he got from Alec almost felt too much at times.  

Alec’s voice pulled him out of his bedazzled state. “You’re okay with this, right? I mean, I figured you’d like to sit next to me, but if you don’t want to sit in the front row, I’m sure Izzy can fix it.”

The warlock’s lips drew into a surprised, but happy smile. He pulled Alec closer and into a short, but tight hug. “I’m more than okay with this, Alexander”, he told the shadowhunter and hoped that Alec wouldn’t be able to recognize the emotion wavering in his voice.

“Good. Because I would like to have the people who I love most by my side today. All of them.”

That being said, Magnus could barely resist the urge to kiss Alec thoroughly breathless on the spot. But then he remembered that they still were in the middle of the Institute and surrounded by bigoted shadowhunters, so he just opted to pull him into another crushing hug and buried his face in Alec’s neck, more or less successfully hiding the happy tears that were prickling in his eyes.

-

Their little moment of quiet was short lived. Magnus had barely the time to let go of his boyfriend when Alec was already swept away by Maryse to greet some high-ranking Clave representatives. (Not as high-ranking as those who had been at the wedding since those were apparently still pissed, but high-ranking and therefore important to Maryse Lightwood nonetheless).

Magnus stood a few feet away from the crowd, proudly watching his boyfriend as he paraded around the room, shaking hands and making conversation just like the serious, professional leader he was about to become. Magnus scanned the room for some familiar faces and was just weighing the pros and cons of helping himself to an early Martini before the ceremony, when his thoughts were interrupted by an all too familiar cheerful voice right next to him.

“Magnus, hey! I didn’t know you were already here”

Clary’s face was just as cheerful as her voice when Magnus turned around to greet her. He let himself be pulled into a hug and nodded at Simon, who was standing next to her.

“Hi, Clary. Well, Alec had to be here earlier than all the others, obviously. And I was already good to go, so why waste my magic on two portals?”. Magnus smiled at her and then looked her up and down, nodding approvingly at her outfit. “You look spectacular tonight, biscuit. I love that dress.”

Clary blushed a little and smoothed down the dark green fabric of her dress. “Thanks, Izzy helped me pick it out.”

Magnus nodded in approval. “Her taste in fashion is outstanding. That reminds me, did she tell you that –“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. The room fell silent as the Silent Brother that had been quietly waiting in the middle of the spoke up. “Guests of this promotion ceremony, take your places.”

Magnus scanned the room in search of Alec. He was standing on the other side of the room, seemingly calm and talking to a shadowhunter Magnus had never seen before. He seemed calm on the outside, but when Magnus met his gaze over the row of seats, he could clearly see that Alec was far from that. Panic mode was back.

Clary, who had been following his gaze, laughed and nudged him into the general direction of Alec. “Go calm down your man before he loses it in front of the entire Institute.”

Magnus sent Clary and Simon an apologetic smile and made his way over to Alec. He met him halfway at the front of the rows of seats. He smoothed down the lapels of Alec’s suit and looked up at his boyfriend, smiling tentatively. “Ready?”

The shadowhunter took a deep breath, then straightened his shoulders and took Magnus’ hand in his. “Now I am.”, he said and led Magnus over to their seats.

_

The ceremony was simple, yet beautiful. Considering how beautiful Alec’s almost-wedding had already been, Magnus had deemed it simply impossible for Isabelle to set up an even more elegant event. But somehow, she had still managed to outdo herself.

Magnus watched in awe as Alec took his oath and swore to always protect the Institute and the shadowhunters living under its roof. He watched him repeat the words of the Silent Brother with a steady, sure tone and unmistakable pride in his voice. As opposed to earlier, his posture did no longer indicate any nervousness. Far from it. He was standing tall and seemed to grow into his new role more and more with each passing word.   

The ceremony didn’t take too long, maybe ten minutes. When it was over and the Silent Brother introduced his boyfriend to the audience as “Alexander Lightwood, Head of the New York Institute”, Magnus was sure there was nobody in the room that applauded louder than him. Everyone got up from their seats and moved towards Alec to congratulate him, but before anyone could get to him, Isabelle had already jumped up from her seat and thrown herself into Alec’s arms, hugging him tight.

Magnus caught Alec’s gaze over her glossy, dark hair and felt like his heart was about to burst at how utterly and completely _happy_ Alec looked in that moment. He seemed so confident, so sure of himself as he accepted handshake after handshake and congratulations after congratulations. There was no way anyone could doubt the obvious: Alec had been born to do this.

The line of people waiting to talk to Alec didn’t seem like it was about to shorten anytime soon, so Magnus decided to congratulate Alec later, opting to head over to the bar instead. He had some drinks with Izzy, Clary and Simon, all four of them buzzing with excitement. And even though he was in the Institute, a place he’d never felt comfortable in, he had to admit that he was having a good time. So good, that he even let himself dare to hope. Maybe now that this place had a new leader, it would become more tolerant towards downworlders. Him and Simon being present at one of their oh-so-sacred ceremonies was certainly a first step towards that.   

It wasn’t until most of the official guests of the party had left that he felt a familiar hand on the small of his back. He turned around wordlessly and was rewarded with the soft hazel of the most beautiful eyes he knew. Without much thinking, Magnus put his half-empty martini onto a side table beside him and closed the distance between him and Alec, throwing his arms around his neck and enveloping him in a tight hug. “Congratulations, love”, he said as he pulled back so he could place a gentle kiss on Alec’s lips. “You were amazing.”

“I hardly did anything”, Alec retorted and turned to Izzy, one of his arms still resting around Magnus’ waist. “Thanks again, Iz, for organizing everything. It was perfect.”

Isabelle beamed at the compliment. “Thank you, big bro. I was hoping you’d like it.”

“I loved it”, Alec said and then turned back to Magnus. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to Magnus for a second.” And then he gently pulled Magnus away from their friends, but not without Clary and Izzy cheering and someone that sounded an awful lot like Jace yelling something that sounded an awful lot like “Don’t forget to use protection!” from across the room.

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes while he led Magnus into an empty hallway, the noise of the party now being just a faint sound in the background. “How do I even put up with these people? They are the worst.”

“They are your siblings. I wouldn’t know, but I guess that’s how they tell you they love you.”

“Yeah. That and organizing crazy expensive parties for me where I end up sneaking away with a certain warlock anyways”, Alec replied.

Magnus grinned at the reference. “Well, I’m certainly not going to blame them. Those parties have been entirely to my benefit so far”. He leaned place a small kiss on Alec’s lips, to which the shadowhunter obliged ever so happily.

“Speaking of my own benefit”; Magnus continued conversationally when they broke apart, “did I already tell you how absolutely stunning you look? I mean, not that you don’t look insanely hot all the time, but that suit...” He took a small step back to adjust Alec’s tie and run his hands over the fabric of the jacket. He clicked his tongue when his fingers brushed over the smooth, well-tailored fabric. “Well, Alexander, if I didn’t know better, I would have to compliment your tailor. You look truly spectacular today.”

Alec chuckled. “Thanks. So do you, by the way. I recognize that jacket, you know.”

Magnus looked up at him with raised eyebrows and an expression full of fake surprise. “You do? Oh, that’s just something old I found in my closet the other day.”

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. As if you would ever pick an outfit completely by coincidence. Or put on _something old you found in your closet._ ” He smiled fondly at the warlock pushed a rogue strand of hair back into its place.

Magnus raised a finger and opened his mouth to object. He did sometimes wear something vintage, thank you very much. But Alec didn’t even let him start. “You wore it the day we met. At Pandemonium, remember? When we brought you that ruby necklace and you bailed on us?”

Magnus chuckled at the memory and shook his head, his dark eyes soft and full of affection. “As if I would ever forget that day, darling. I’m glad to see that Isabelle still wears that necklace. It suits her.”

When Alec just shot him a telling look and raised one eyebrow, Magnus surrendered. “Alright, I give up”, he sighed dramatically, “You were right, I did pick this jacket on purpose. That day was the start of something truly amazing and special. And today will be as well, so I thought this would fit the occasion.”

Alec didn’t answer. In fact, all Magnus got as a reaction was silence. When he looked up, he was met with a speechless Alec who was staring at him with a somewhat puzzled, surprised look in his eyes and parted lips. He had clearly not expected this kind of answer. He recovered quickly, though, because just as Magnus opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, Alec surged forward, cupped Magnus’ face in his hands and smashed their mouths together.

 “You are unbelievable”, Alec muttered against his lips when they broke apart, “making me all flustered with one single sentence.”

Magnus put on a sly grin. “My dearest Alexander, I know plenty of ways to leave you all flustered, believe me.”

Alec shook his head and let out a quiet laugh. “Did I say unbelievable? I meant insufferable.” He leaned down to Magnus once more and kissed him again, softer this time. “I love you.”

“I love you too. And I am so proud of you, Alexander. Not only today, but every day”, Magnus answered and then pulled Alec in again to make sure the shadowhunter understood how utterly serious he was about that.   

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, how did you like it? :)
> 
> In case you want to chat about Shadowhunters or Malec, come visit me on my tumblr:  
> [katwriting](https://katwriting.tumblr.com/)


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